Description

CPU

Our CPU of choice for this budget is the Intel i3-6100. While it features only two cores, the 6100 also employs hyperthreading to help close the gap between it and a 4-core i5. Hyperthreading adds an additional logical core for each physical core, which is handy for streaming, video editing, and multi-tasking CPU-intensive tasks. The i3-6100 includes a stock cooler, so 3rd-party cooler isn't necessary.

Motherboard

We're using a sparse selection of motherboards, which will display which is the cheapest of the four. All four motherboards feature the B150 chipset and an LGA 1151 socket for compatibility with the i3-6100. They include 4 DIMM slots for up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM. They're also capable of using the CPU's integrated GPU, in case you need to RMA your GPU or are waiting for a sale or upgrade.

Memory

A parametric filter is being applied to choose the best priced 2x4GB kit of memory within Intel's recommended specifications. With this selection, we have space on the motherboards for 2 more sticks of RAM, leaving room for future expansion.

Storage

We're also using parametric filters to select the best priced 240-256GB SSD available. The SSD can be used for your OS and a good handful of games. Everyone's needs are different, so feel free to change out capacities to fit yours. For example, if 240GB feels cramped to you, I recommend picking up a mechanical hard drive for another 1 or 2TB or storage space.

GPU

We're going with a filter for the best-priced Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050ti 4GB. This will run modern games at 1080p admirably. If you plan to play significantly more DirectX 12 games than DirectX 11 or other APIs, the AMD Radeon RX 480 or RX 470 may perform better, but there aren't enough DX12 games out to justify that as a general recommendation.

Case

The newly released Corsair 270R is a mid tower case that can fit all of our components. It offers decent cable management, a power supply shroud, a large window, room for multiple radiators, and there's space to expand with 3.5" hard drives or 2.5" solid state drives. It also has 2 front panel USB 3.0 ports. Cases tend to be highly personal choices, so make sure you browse our listed cases to see what suits you.

PSU

For the PSU, we're using a parametric selection of a few well-reviewed semi-modular and modular units, which are all rated for good power efficiency and can provide plenty of power for this build.

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Newegg has a combo that is very similar to this for $564.98 as of the date on this comment. Upside to the Newegg combo is the processor is an I5-6500. Downside is the motherboard is slightly less desirable and the SSD is 120Gb vs 240Gb. Other than that, the combo is very similar. Personally I would go with the Newegg combo because of the processor upgrade and slight savings in price.

I posted this comment a couple of weeks ago and it was recently deleted (couple of weeks ago the same combo was $549.99). I just want to provide people with options that are similar, more affordable, and potentially better.

If the lower models have enough VRAM, then the VRAM amount won't make a difference. If they don't, it will make a big difference. It'll depend on the application.

VRAM aside, the 3GB model has 10% fewer shading units and operates at the same clock rate. This effectively results in a reduction in performance of very roughly 5% (varies depending on games) relative to the 6GB model.

The 4GB version of the RX 480 has somewhat lower clocked memory speeds than the 8GB version. It will affect performance at all and ever, but it will do so by a very small amount most of the time, provided 4GB is enough VRAM.

If your going to keep it for a while, the 470 is a good choice due to the better DX12 performance and extra RAM. If you plan to upgrade in a year and the 1060 is less than 10% more than the 470 that may be better.

Nah, the 3GB 1060 will bottleneck the i5 pretty hard so that upgrade is fairly pointless unless you really only want to push 1080p and spend 80 bucks extra on an i5 to see a 10FPS gain in a small number of games. It's not really worth it. If it's a matter of being future proof, well...Kaby Lake is literally a month and a half away...

Kaby Lake will be marginally better and slightly more expensive (im still going to buy one lol).

I would personally recommend buying an i5 + 1060 6gb, but if you cant afford both get the the cheaper 3gb 1060, because its easier to upgrade that part. Upgrading cpu is just hassle, and they tend to last longer than gpu's

It should be on by default. I'd imagine it'd make temps go up a little bit (but not large increase) since hyperthreading increases utilization of the CPU's execution units, even though idle ones will still consume a little power.

So does every other Skylake CPU, thats why they have XMP which basically overclocks the RAM to their rated speeds, it's the motherboard that controlles that so you will need a motherboard that supports the speed of the RAM which this one doesn't. I think only z170 motherboards support XMP.

Have a look at the parts list. You can click the blue 'buy' buttons on the right hand side and it will link you to the sellers. You can also create a custom parts list from this page via the 'customize this parts list' button. Here you can select the vendor to save on shipping (for example) or change out parts as you please.

An SSD makes for a considerable quality of life improvement when using a PC. Not just boot times or loading screens in games. The whole system is much snappier and more responsives. These days, SSDs have come down in price enough that entry level builds can include them.

Even then, however:

Everyone's needs are different, so feel free to change out capacities to fit yours.

All things considered for an all around PC you might want to spend a few bucks on the i3 simple for the hyper threading that could be used for non-gaming programs.

In general, the types of workloads that benefit the most from hyper threading fall into one of two categories:

A) Heavy Multi-Tasking workflows. While an individual tasks (like a game) may not in and of itself impose a heavy CPU load, if a number of things are running the benefit from hyper threading is the ability to juggle cpu use tasks efficiently

B) Workloads that want to keep the CPU under load for as close to 100% of the time as possible. Low-end Video Editing and low end 3D Rendering are standout examples in this category. And i3 woudl take awhile to render a video, but it will do it a lot faster than that G3258 even if you overclocked it.

A low end gaming machine shoudl be a bit of all all arounder for some everyday tasks if it will just cost a $20 to $50 more to make it so - IMO.

How does the Thermaltake Core V1 case compare to the case used in this build? This would be my first build and the idea of a smaller case appeals to me as it would make the whole thing more discreet. I'm just wondering in terms of fitting the parts and noise.

Hi. I used this as the basis for my build - got a 6GB geforce gtx 1060 graphics card because I had some extra cash. Apart from that its basically the same - my question is this: I can run overwatch really nicely - and I'm interested in BF1. However when I check with 'canirunit' they return with a resounding 'no' based on the processor - is this actually the case? Or could I still run it with the graphics tuned down a bit. Same thing with games like DOOM and The Witcher 3. Like I said - I can run Overwatch on Ultra settings no problem.

Yes and no. Bottlenecking completely depends on the specific use. For gaming, it completely depends on the specific game, resolution, and graphical settings. Any CPU can bottleneck any GPU and any GPU can bottleneck any CPU.

It is my first time building a computer so any tips on how to make this build better without a huge price increase or make it cheaper with about the same performance would be very much appreciated.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/9KgMwV

Tbh you could easily get a pentium and OC instead of an i3 and you could get a 320gb hdd for around $15 and a wayyy cheaper psu(even with upgrades it'll be very difficult to need that much). With all those changes you'll be under $500 w/o an OS

Everyone's needs are different, so feel free to change out capacities to fit yours. For example, if 240GB feels cramped to you, I recommend picking up a mechanical hard drive for another 1 or 2TB or storage space.

the i3 6100 has phenomenal single threaded performance and if you get the right motherboard you can use the base clock overclocking method to get well over 4Ghz. It is by far the best value CPU on the market.